The DICT Development Group

Tuvalu
n 1: a small island republic on the Tuvalu islands; formerly
part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands
until it withdrew in 1975 and became independent of the
United Kingdom in 1978
2: a group of coral islands in Micronesia to the southwest of
Hawaii [syn: Tuvalu, Ellice Islands]

Tuvalu
Introduction Tuvalu
-------------------
Background: In 1974, ethnic differences within
the British colony of the Gilbert
and Ellice Islands caused the
Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to
vote for separation from the
Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands.
The following year, the Ellice
Islands became the separate British
colony of Tuvalu. Independence was
granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu
negotiated a contract leasing its
Internet domain name ".tv" for $50
million in royalties over the next
dozen years.
Geography Tuvalu
----------------
Location: Oceania, island group consisting of
nine coral atolls in the South
Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the
way from Hawaii to Australia
Geographic coordinates: 8 00 S, 178 00 E
Map references: Oceania
Area: total: 26 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 26 sq km
Area - comparative: 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 24 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical; moderated by easterly
trade winds (March to November);
westerly gales and heavy rain
(November to March)
Terrain: very low-lying and narrow coral
atolls
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 100% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Natural hazards: severe tropical storms are usually
rare, but, in 1997, there were three
cyclones; low level of islands make
them very sensitive to changes in
sea level
Environment - current issues: since there are no streams or rivers
and groundwater is not potable, most
water needs must be met by catchment
systems with storage facilities (the
Japanese Government has built one
desalination plant and plans to
build one other); beachhead erosion
because of the use of sand for
building materials; excessive
clearance of forest undergrowth for
use as fuel; damage to coral reefs
from the spread of the Crown of
Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very
concerned about global increases in
greenhouse gas emissions and their
effect on rising sea levels, which
threaten the country's underground
water table; in 2000, the government
appealed to Australia and New
Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if
rising sea levels should make
evacuation necessary
Environment - international party to: Climate Change, Climate
agreements: Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified:
Biodiversity, Law of the Sea
Geography - note: one of the smallest and most remote
countries on Earth; six of the coral
atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu,
Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae
- have lagoons open to the ocean;
Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked
lagoons; Niulakita does not have a
lagoon
People Tuvalu
-------------
Population: 11,146 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.6% (male 1,851;
female 1,785)
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 3,335;
female 3,607)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 233;
female 335) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.4% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 21.44 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 7.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/
female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 22 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 66.98 years
female: 69.23 years (2002 est.)
male: 64.83 years
Total fertility rate: 3.07 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan
Ethnic groups: Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4%
Religions: Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist)
97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%,
Baha'i 1%, other 0.6%
Languages: Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati
(on the island of Nui)
Literacy: definition: percentage of people
over the age of 15 who can read and
write
total population: 55% (1996)
male: NA%
female: NA%
Government Tuvalu
-----------------
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu
note: "Tuvalu" means "group of
eight," referring to the country's
eight traditionally inhabited
islands
former: Ellice Islands
Government type: constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary democracy; began
debating republic status in 1992
Capital: Fongafale
Administrative divisions: none
Independence: 1 October 1978 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 October (1978)
Constitution: 1 October 1978
Legal system: NA
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II
(since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General Sir Tomasi
PUAPUA, M.D. (since 26 June 1998)
elections: the monarch is
hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch on the
recommendation of the prime
minister; prime minister and deputy
prime minister elected by and from
the members of Parliament; election
last held 13 December 2001 (next to
be held by August 2002)
election results: Koloa TALAKE
elected prime minister; percent of
Parliament vote - 53%
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the
governor general on the
recommendation of the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister
Koloa TALAKE (since 13 December
2001); TALAKE took over after Prime
Minister Faimalaga LUKA was ousted
in a vote of no-confidence
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament or Fale I
Fono, also called House of Assembly
(15 seats; members elected by
popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002
(next to be held NA 2006)
election results: percent of vote -
NA%; seats - independents 15
Judicial branch: High Court (a chief justice visits
twice a year to preside over its
sessions; its rulings can be
appealed to the Court of Appeal in
Fiji); eight Island Courts (with
limited jurisdiction)
Political parties and leaders: there are no political parties but
members of Parliament usually align
themselves in informal groupings
Political pressure groups and none
leaders:
International organization ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, IFRCS
participation: (associate), ITU, Sparteca, SPC,
SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO,
WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: Tuvalu does not have an embassy in
the US - the country's only
diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu
does, however, have a UN office
located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite
400D, New York, New York 10017,
telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534
Diplomatic representation from the the US does not have an embassy in
US: Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is
accredited to Tuvalu
Flag description: light blue with the flag of the UK
in the upper hoist-side quadrant;
the outer half of the flag
represents a map of the country with
nine yellow five-pointed stars
symbolizing the nine islands
Economy Tuvalu
--------------
Economy - overview: Tuvalu consists of a densely
populated, scattered group of nine
coral atolls with poor soil. The
country has no known mineral
resources and few exports.
Subsistence farming and fishing are
the primary economic activities.
Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on
average, visit Tuvalu annually.
Government revenues largely come
from the sale of stamps and coins
and worker remittances. About 1,000
Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the
phosphate mining industry. Nauru has
begun repatriating Tuvaluans,
however, as phosphate resources
decline. Substantial income is
received annually from an
international trust fund established
in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK
and supported also by Japan and
South Korea. Thanks to wise
investments and conservative
withdrawals, this Fund has grown
from an initial $17 million to over
$35 million in 1999. The US
government is also a major revenue
source for Tuvalu, with 1999
payments from a 1988 treaty on
fisheries at about $9 million, a
total which is expected to rise
annually. In an effort to reduce its
dependence on foreign aid, the
government is pursuing public sector
reforms, including privatization of
some government functions and
personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998,
Tuvalu began deriving revenue from
use of its area code for "900" lines
and in 2000, from the lease of its
".tv" Internet domain name.
Royalties from these new technology
sources could raise GDP
substantially over the next decade.
With merchandise exports only a
fraction of merchandise imports,
continued reliance must be placed on
fishing and telecommunications
license fees, remittances from
overseas workers, official
transfers, and investment income
from overseas assets.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.2
million (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,100
(2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 7,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: people make a living mainly through
exploitation of the sea, reefs, and
atolls and from wages sent home by
those abroad (mostly workers in the
phosphate industry and sailors)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million,
including capital expenditures of
$4.2 million (2000 est.)
Industries: fishing, tourism, copra
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA%
Agriculture - products: coconuts; fish
Exports: $276,000 (f.o.b., 1997)
Exports - commodities: copra, fish
Exports - partners: Sweden, Fiji, Iceland, Germany,
Greece (2000)
Imports: $7.2 million (c.i.f., 1998)
Imports - commodities: food, animals, mineral fuels,
machinery, manufactured goods
Imports - partners: Fiji, Australia, Portugal, NZ (2000)
Debt - external: $NA
Economic aid - recipient: $13 million (1999 est.); note -
major donors are Japan, Australia,
and the US
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD); note -
there is also a Tuvaluan dollar
Currency code: AUD
Exchange rates: Tuvaluan dollars or Australian
dollars per US dollar - 1.9354
(January 2002), 1.9320 (2001),
1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888
(1998), 1.3439 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Tuvalu
---------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 1,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (1994)
Telephone system: general assessment: serves
particular needs for internal
communications
domestic: radiotelephone
communications between islands
international: NA
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999)
Radios: 4,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)
Televisions: 800
Internet country code: .tv
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: NA
Transportation Tuvalu
---------------------
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 19.5 km
paved: 0 km
unpaved: 19.5 km (2002)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Funafuti, Nukufetau
Merchant marine: total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 31,021 GRT/52,198 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned
ships registered here as a flag of
convenience: Germany 5 (2002 est.)
ships by type: cargo 3, passenger/
cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1
Airports: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2001)
Military Tuvalu
---------------
Military branches: no regular military forces; Police
Force (includes Maritime
Surveillance Unit for search and
rescue missions and surveillance
operations)
Military expenditures - dollar $NA
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of NA%
GDP:
Transnational Issues Tuvalu
---------------------------
Disputes - international: none